Keyboard for stenographic type-writing machines.



B. T. BRYAN KEYBOARD FOR STENOGRAPHIC TYPE WRITING MACHlNES.

' APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12.1917. 1 L,

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

H [TNESSES lWt BAILEY TYLER BRYAN, INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE STENOTYPE COMPANY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

mrnoann FOR STENOGRAPHIC TYPE-WRITING- MACHIN ES.

Specification pf Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

Application filed February 12, 1917. Serial No. 148.155.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BAILEY TYLER BRYAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Keyboards for Stenographic Type-Writing Machines;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in the art of stenographic writing, and more particularly to a keyboard for a stencgraphic typewriting machine,one object of the invention being'to provide a keyboard to cooperate with suitable printing means, in which the keys shall be so arranged and provided with such designations as will facilitatc the speed at which the writing may be accomplished, and so that a written or printed record may be produced which shall be readily understood by any one familiar with the language recorded.

A further object is to provide a singlecase key-board for stenographic writing machines, which shall be so constructed and arranged that words or syllables may be written phonetically at a single stroke, and so that arbitrary code combinations shall be avoided. whereby a keyboard is produced which is phonetically codeless and which may be operated to produce writing with the letters in their proper sequence and readable by anyone.

A further object is to provide a keyboard for a stenographic typewriting machine in which the keys and the character designations shall be so arranged in three groups embracing initial consonants at the left, consonants for the endings of words and syllables at the right, and a central group of vowels, that at a single stroke words or syllables may be written and so that any necessary sequence of letters may be selected on the keyboard and caused to appear in their proper sequence in the written or printed record.-

With these and other objects in view, the

invention consists in certain novel features in the arrangement of a keyboard and the character designations on the keys of said keyboard as hereinafter set forth and point ed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing is a view show ng diagrammatically, a keyboard em bodymg my invention.

My lmproved keyboard comprises keys arranged in four groups, A, B, C and D and a single long key E,the last-mentioned key being intended to so shift certain of the type of the machine that, when said long key is struck simultaneously with certain other keys, numerals or punctuations may be printed.

The group A of keys at the left of the keyboard comprises fifteen keys arranged in three rows 1, 2, 3, of five keys each. The keys of the first row are designated successively, beginning at the left hand end of the row, with the letters B, G, N. M and Vy; the keys of the next row 2, are designated successively with the letters Sz, T, Gk L and R,and the keys of the row 3 are designated successively with the letters D, P H W, and J Ihe keys of the front group B, are centrally arranged in a single row and are designated respectively, with the vowels A, O, I, E and U.

The keys of the group C at the right of the center of the key-board are arranged in three rows 4, 5, 6, having five keys each. The keys of the row 4 are designated successively, beginning at the left hand end of the row, with the letters RL M, Pb,

L and D; and the keys of the row 5 are designated successively with the letters N'7 G, 1;, Tth and s and keys of the row 6 are designated su cces; sively Withthe letters 1w 2r 2g and ER.

The group D of keys comprises two keys 7 and 8,one. in front of the other, the key 7 being designated to indicate a star or other suitable character to denote a correction to be made in matter previously written. and the key 8 being intended for use in line spacing.

. The keys of the group A provide letters arranged in such sequence that any group of letters necessary to write the beginning of a wordwan be selected, struck at the same time and Will cause the printing or Writing in correct. order on the record. The following list of combinations consonants illustrates this:

Initial consonants. Representations.

ST ST SP SP SH SH SC SC SW SW SPH SPH SN SN SM SM SQ SKW SL SL STR STR SPR SPR SPL SPL SCR SCR TH TH TR TR TW TWV THE THE PH PH PR PR PL PL CR CR CL CL CH CH DW DW DR DR BR BR BL BL GB GR GL GL FR PHR FL PHL THW THW VB VB- It will be observed that in no instance are more than two keys used in the same vertical row, and never are two keys used in the same vertical row unless they are next to each other in the horizontal rows. To illustrate this, it may be stated that the B key in row 1 is never used at the beginning of a word orsyllable in conjunction with the.

D key in row 3 or any other key in the same horizontal row 3 in which D appears.

The above table also illustrates the fact that any initial consonant or initial consonants in their proper sequence and immediately legible to any one may be selected and written at a single stroke. The same thing applies to nearly every combination of final consonants in group C. There are however a few sequences of final consonants that cannot always be obtained to write a certain comparatively few words at single strokes. To illustrate this, it may be stated that the final consonants P and L appear in some words in regular order with the L following the P and sometimes in the reverse order. Thus, in writing the word People the final consonant-s appear in regular order as illustrated on the keyboard, while with such words as Help, these consonants appear in reverse order. It would not therefore be possible for any keyboard under the immediate control of the hands to write both sequences each at a single stroke without having two of the same letters. \Vith my improved keyboard however, cases of this kind are reduced to a minimum.

It Will be observed that my improved keyboard is a single case keyboard, requiring no shift keys to write letter representations; and that every letter necessary in writing words phonetically is represented on my improved keyboard, with the exception of the use of P and H on the left hand side of the keyboard to represent F and this is the natural and logical phonetic representation. From the phonetic standpoint there are no so-called missing letters which must be supplied by arbitrary combinations of those that do appear. By reason of the particular arrangement of letters on my improved keyboard. all keys are under the immediate control of the hands at all times. As the necessity for arbitrary combinations to represent missing letters is practically eliminated. words and syllables may be written with the use of a minimum number of letters. thus enhancing the speed and accuracy with which the machine may be operated. lVith the use of my keyboard the operator is enabled to write syllabically thus insuring the rytlnnic operation so essential to speed with a writing machine, and even in pencilshorthand.

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is

1. A keyboard in a stenographic writing machine comprising the letters B G N M Vy SzT Gk L R D P H W J at one side of the center of the keyboard representing singly and by phonetic combinations initial consonants of Words and syllables of words and another group of letters P R M B L D N G K Tth Sz nrvaj f nn at the other side of the center of the keyboard representing singly and by phonetic assen combinations final consonants of Words and syllables of Words; and vowels, A O I E U.

2. A keyboard in a stenographic Writing machine comprising keys representing the a central group of letters BGNMVy SzTGkLR ornvw I at the left side of the center of the keyboard -lLlli representing singly and by phonetic combinations initial consonants of words and syllables of Words.

' 3. A keyboard in a stenographic yvriting machine comprising keys representing the letters P R M B L D .N G K Tth S s 4 I R Fv ch ER at the right side of the center of the keyboard representing singly and by phonetic combinations final consonants of words and syllables of Words.

i. A keyboard for stenographic writing machines comprising at one side of the center, group of keys arranged in three parallel rows and representing letters indicating initial consonants and prefixes of Words and comprising the letters:

BGNMVy sz'rernn nruwa arranged in the order substantially as specified.

5. A keyboard for stenographic Writing machines comprising at one side of the center, a group of keys arranged in three parallel rows and representing letters indicating final consonants and the sufixes of Words and comprising the letters:

arranged in the order substantially as specified.

6. A keyboard for stenographic Writing machines, comprising at one side of the center a group of keys arranged in three rows and representing the letters sonar Vy sz'reknn ornrva a group of keys arranged in three rows at the other side of the center of the keyboard and representing the letters,

BAILEY TYLER BRYAN.

Witnesses:

G. C. Mol anmuo, J. M. Bowen. 

